TV: HBO executive takes the blame for True Detective 2nd season failure UPDATE! 4rd Season w/ Jodie Foster!

[playahaitian]

‘True Detective: Night Country’ Team Explains Ambiguous Ending: “You Should Be Making Theories”

Showrunner Issa López and stars Jodie Foster, Kali Reis and Finn Bennett speak with The Hollywood Reporter about the HBO crime drama's chilling conclusion: "It's an ending that leaves you guessing."

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[playahaitian]

Issa López Wants You to Decide

The showrunner calls True Detective: Night Country’s ambiguous ending “my gift and my curse” to the viewer.​

By Roxana Hadadi, a Vulture TV critic who also covers film and pop culture

Photo: Lilja Jons/HBO
Spoilers follow for True Detective: Night Country finale “Part Six.”
There are three ways to read the ending of True Detective: Night Country, says showrunner Issa López. The real story: A group of Native women exacting revenge for the murder of Annie Kowtok sent the Tsalal scientists to their deaths on the ice. The fake story, a cover-up: The mining company secretly funding the research station and lining cops’ pockets blames a freak avalanche for the corpsicle. Both stories are narrative certainties in Night Country’s season finale, but the third reading, one in which a supernatural power — a ghost, a god, a force of nature, something else — met the scientists in their final moments is just as plausible: There’s an entity in Ennis we might not understand but some characters certainly feel. Ensuring the scripts had an ambiguity that allowed each viewer to decide just how realistic or fantastical they wanted Night Country to be was “my gift and my curse,” López explains. “To walk a tight line between genre and realism is my favorite hurdle to try to surpass,” she says. “My favorite option is a little bit of both.”
How do you write ambiguity? I’m assuming you’re not writing a story and then going back and saying, “Let’s put a ghost in here!”
I inhabit quite a divided psyche, and it has to do with my upbringing. I come from an agnostic, atheist father and a deeply Catholic mother, and both are gone from my life. But I do believe both walk with me. “No one ever really leaves” is my way of seeing things.
I don’t write and then look back on places to insert one or the other; as the story comes to me, the supernatural weaves itself in it. Interpretation is always in the point of view: What character is perceiving this reality, and what relationship does that character have with the supernatural? When Navarro hears voices, we know she comes from a long family history of mental-health issues and a sensitivity to the beyond. Is this really happening, or is this Navarro’s perception? Danvers is an absolute skeptic — but is she? When she’s thinking, she plays white noise to cut out other sounds. She has dreams where her dead son visits her. But are they dreams?
Season one did it. It’s hard to tell if it came from the writing or the directing, but it was definitely in the final mix, which is all that matters. Rust Cohle sees the spirals in the sky, sees little girls standing by the edge of the road, and at the very end stares into the depths of Carcosa and the universe and the beyond. Is this because he fried his brain with drugs when he was undercover? Or is it because he has learned to see beyond? That’s up to us to define. In this season, we can decide that these men walked onto the ice, the pressure dropped because there was a sudden blizzard, and their body temperature dropped so fast they developed delirium and died. Or, there was something in the dark. It’s for you to decide.
López on set with the corpsicle. Photo: Courtesy of Issa López
There are various nods and connections to the series mythology, like the spiral, which in the first season serves as a representation of Carcosa. In this season, Rose says it’s older than the ice. How did it speak to you as an image?
There’s no specific line of what the spiral means in season one. In season two, someone says it’s the symbol of a pedophile ring, but that is connected to the events of season one, where we see it ritualistically marked on the bodies of the victims and the places we imagine they’re performing rituals. According to the Cthulhu mythos and all the Lovecraftian lore, there is a kingdom beyond where the ancient gods roam. And that’s the part that I was like, Okay, this connects to what I’m doing. It’s not called Carcosa here; it has many different names. But Ennis is where the veil between our world and other worlds is becoming thin, where there is a connection to the place where the old gods roam.
When the hunter says in episode five, “Old hunters used to leave this as a warning of where the ice would swallow you,” that refers to how the cave system has a heart, the bone chamber. The creatures of the sea are the fossils that created that spiral: This is why Annie was having dreams about it, this place where she will die later. It all connects to the idea of repetition and the circles, a theme the first season has. It’s not necessarily that everything is connected, it’s just the same universe. Cohle’s father lived and died in Alaska, so if I have a ghost of an older man, it was an opportunity to say, This is the same world. The fact that they drink the same beer, little things like that create this feeling for people who love the first season.
Were there any specific Native or Indigenous mythologies that influenced “the woman who is now awake”?
I love the idea that the first season is a tremendously male season with a male mythology and the Yellow King. The other seasons are day and this is night, so this season naturally became female. And the night is female — we just know this. If the older gods are being awakened, what if we make her female? The damage that has been done to women and the environment — Mother Nature — would invite the idea of a wrath of a female god that we shouldn’t have been messing with.
López on the Tsalal set with Finn Bennett and Jodie Foster. Photo: Courtesy of Issa López
I started to write, not giving her a name but thinking, Is Annie a manifestation of that god? As I was working, I obviously wondered, Maybe this connects with some sort of Inuit mythology. And lo and behold, when the Inuit producers came to the show, they analyzed the scripts and said, “Oh, this is Sedna. Let’s call her that,” and I was like, “If you give me your blessing, that’s fantastic.” But the more I worked on it and the more concrete I made it, the more it created conflicts with the way they saw it. I decided out of respect, that it was better to go back to my simpler suggestion. As happens with mythologies, there are many different versions of the story. In some of them, her fingers break because of the cold; in some of them, her father caused her fingers to break. Those little differences are massive. I stood back and said, “We’re going to leave it in the realm of suggestion. I don’t want to be disrespectful to something that is tremendously central to the identity of the Inuit.”
The season ends with the reveal that a group of Native and Indigenous women who worked as the research station’s cleaning staff were responsible for the scientists’ deaths as revenge for the killing of Annie K. You called these women the “Justice Ladies.” These actresses make such an impact. Some of them are also musicians, some of them are also activists. How did this group of women come together?
It was such a specific task. We read the hell out of them because they have to work individually and together. We had two fantastic consultant-producers in the show who became outright producers, Cathy Tagnak Rexford and Princess Daazhraii Johnson, who gave a lot of recommendations. Alaska casting directors Stacey Kane and Deborah Schildt went to Nome and the communities; Francine Maisler in Los Angeles was looking at Canada because when we’re talking Inuit, it doesn’t matter if they’re Canadian or Alaskan. Alda Gudjonsdottir and Julie Wieth were in Iceland, Greenland, and Denmark; a lot of the Greenlandic Inuit live in Denmark. And then there’s cases like Tanya Tagaq, who is an international rock star. She was one of the Justice Ladies and did additional music composing; her voice is all over the music and sound design of the series and now she’s a darling friend.
Many of them knew each other because of activism or music, but if they didn’t know each other, they were cousins with someone who knew them. They became really good friends: They were going out partying together, going swimming together and to the sauna in Iceland, and they were hungover together and then they came to set. [Laughs.] We invited them all for the premiere but we were like, “If you take photos together, don’t post them on social media until later, because it’s such a spoiler.” We couldn’t walk them on the red carpet, which broke my heart. We couldn’t bring attention to them. When I spoke at the premiere, the only people I thanked — because otherwise there’s so many names that I would get lost — were the Inuit people.
Kali Reis told me what a blast they were to be around. She said there were a couple times they were having too good of a time on set and you had to be like, “Please keep it quiet.”
Yes! We would be doing a different scene, and the cast for the next scene starts arriving, and I knew they were in the building even though we were in an isolated soundstage. I had to go and be like, “Ladies,” like a school teacher.
They were so passionate. The stunt coordinators were trying to train them with the guns they bring into the station, and many of these women who go hunting half the year were like, “This is not how you do it. You hold it like this.” They were terrifying when they came into the station in the best possible way. Before, I was like, “Ladies, we know why we’re doing this. This is a time of justice. We’re sick of this happening to and in our communities.” I was speaking to them as the characters, and then jokingly, I was like, “And think they are like your exes!” They were just laughing out loud. They came into the station and I was electrified. The scientists, who are trained actors and knew exactly what would happen, didn’t have to pretend. The women were a force. It was like a wave of power coming through the hallways in the station. It was beautiful.
You’ve said, “You write the impossible. You write what you want to see.” What felt impossible about Night Country? What did you want to make possible?
Shooting a whole TV series in the Arctic night, mostly in exteriors, seemed, not impossible, but certainly a challenge. It seemed kind of a crazy idea, to tell you the truth. You have to separate the filmmaker from the writer, and they will fight sometimes. The writer has to reign supreme when writing is happening and the director is probably going to be very mad at what the writer came up with. But you cannot let practicality or rationality get in the way of a fantastic story. You need to create the space as if no one had to shoot it later — certainly not you. [Laughs.]
You’ve said of True Detective, “the place is a character in itself.” Why Alaska?
It is the 49th state, but it stands far, far away from the rest of the United States. Nothing compares with the high Arctic and frozen ocean of northwest Alaska. It is a vast expanse with a very low population, so events take a long time to reach other communities. Secrets last longer and go deeper. Looking at the other seasons of True Detective and how they embrace the environment as a character, I was thinking, Maybe the desert is going to be different. But the second season has a really big and important set piece in the desert outside Los Angeles. That would have been a little bit easier to shoot, by the way, even though the desert is not kind. But when I thought of the ice and the absolute cold, it felt like a jolt of new energy into the franchise.
There’s an X-Files episode set in this area, there’s The Thing, there’s 30 Days of Night. We treat the ice and the snow like there’s so much waiting for us.
There is an elemental power to it, in the way the sea has it. If you go underwater, immediately, genre starts whispering: Captain Nemo, the James Cameron movie The Abyss. If you go into the depths of the Amazon jungle, the same thing will happen. It’s still perfumed with adventure and possibilities and the unknown. The ice holds secrets, and it’s ancestral; it’s been there for millions of years in the permafrost. If you dig, you’re going to find things that probably should stay asleep. When I put that together — the geography, the uniqueness, the separate-but-joined nature of Alaska with the rest of America, this immediate primordial mystical relationship we have with such spaces — it was a no-brainer.
You’re trying to convey the ancient feeling of this place. But you’re also telling a present-day story about the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women.
I made a movie called Tigers Are Not Afraid and the inciting incident is the disappearance of a woman in Mexico, which is a horrendously common event. I took it to a festival in Edmonton and at least half the audience was Native, mostly Inuit. The moment the movie ended, they started to tell their stories about the women disappearing in their communities. That stayed with me. I thought, If there’s an occasion to talk about this in my work in English, I would. The moment I knew Night Country was going to be centered on the disappearance of a bunch of men, I felt there had to be this horrible continuity of the disappearance of Native women underneath, and how those two could and should be connected.
Navarro and Danvers often talk about those two central tensions in Ennis. The season really emphasizes how we see things and recognize they’re wrong but also accept that we can’t do anything about them.
In our daily lives, we find ourselves presented with these horrible conundrums, moral conundrums and existential conundrums, that we know are unacceptable. It happens in politics, the news, climate change, gender politics. Every day we have to negotiate the cognitive dissonance of, We cannot let another hour go by without stopping this! But I’m going to get a coffee and meet with my friends because there is nothing I can do at this moment except look away and continue living. And the series is a very respectful reminder that you actually can’t just go for coffee. [Laughs.]
López watches the last shot of the series on the last day of filming. Photo: Courtesy of Issa López
Danvers loves telling people they’re not asking “the right question.” How did you land on that language?
You want your detectives to be brilliant, but they cannot be brilliant in the same manner that another 100 detectives have been brilliant. You have to create their own thing. Being a massive fan of Sherlock Holmes in my childhood and having seen every noir movie and detective show you can imagine, I had this challenge: What is the superpower of my detective? And man, it’s difficult. I knew Navarro’s was going to be a talent to communicate with people, a talent to understand the knitting of the community, and her gut instinct. But Danvers was hard. I didn’t want to do a wall with red string. So she puts every visual cue in front of her in a very orderly grid and starts making connections and creates chaos around her by mixing and mixing and mixing in order to find that little connection, this and this. That does a lot for the visual technique in the series.
“Ask the right question” was tough. I had a version of that scene on the stairs of the ice-skating rink with Prior where they were doing it with Legos. It was cute, but it didn’t speak to her deductive method. It was by rewriting and rewriting the scene that I found that very simple thing of, in order to find the right answer, you do have to ask the right question. Sometimes the gods of writing talk to you and I think I was simply asking the right question. And I got my answer.
Liz Danvers and Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs are very different characters, but what I liked about the rink scene is that when Liz interacts with Prior, she is taking the Hannibal role to his Clarice, guiding him toward certain information. I love the mirroring of an iconic moment for Jodie but flipping it so she is in the position of authority.
I don’t know if it was conscious, but it’s definitely there. The thing about influences is even when you don’t know they’re there, they exist somewhere in your skull. It has happened several times in my work. The breaking of the arm and Lund waking up screaming is directly from Se7en, but I was not aware that it’s so obviously from Se7en until people started to make that connection when it aired. It happened in Tigers Are Not Afraid with the little girl drawing with the piece of chalk; I knew Pan’s Labyrinth was an influence, but I had edited the chalk piece out of my mind. When you’ve seen and consumed enough cinema, enough TV, enough novels, you’re not always aware of what you’re lifting from someone else’s work. Now they’re part of how you think. It’s an homage. Guillermo was never mad at me for the chalk. I hope Fincher doesn’t take it poorly. Jonathan Demme is no longer with us, sadly, but definitely that scene is Hannibal-Clarice moment. All of this comes from love.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

​

 

[playahaitian]

'True Detective: Night Country' star slams Nic Pizzolatto for shady posts

'True Detective: Night Country' star Kali Reis slams series creator Nic Pizzolatto for reposting fan rants about the series finale.

ew.com

True Detective creator criticized by Night Country star for shady posts about finale: 'That’s a damn shame'​

Series creator and executive producer Nic Pizzolatto is being slammed for sharing critical fan rants on social media.
By Shania Russell

Published on February 20, 2024

After weeks of nonstop questions, speculation, and polar bear theories, True Detective: Night Country finally provided answers in its devastating season finale. But not everyone is happy with how the mystery concluded.

True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto is apparently among the season’s critics after making his feelings known in a series of now-deleted social media posts.

According to screenshots shared on X (formerly Twitter), Pizzolatto seemingly reposted several fan messages on Instagram Stories criticizing the fourth season as a “hot mess” that “butchered and misappropriated” the first season’s “all time classic dialogue.”

This comes weeks after Pizzolatto, who is credited as an executive producer on the fourth season, alluded to his complaints in another since-deleted post where he told a critical fan, “I certainly did not have any input on this story or anything else. Can’t blame me.”

Kali Reis and Jodie Foster in 'True Detective: Night Country' and Nic Pizzolatto.
GREGG DEGUIRE/GETTY IMAGES; MICHELE K. SHORT/HBO
True Detective: Night Country, created by Issa López and headlined by two-time Oscar winner Jodie Foster and boxer-turned-actor Kali Reis, centers on the mysterious murder of an Indigenous Alaskan woman. The season marks the fourth entry in the anthology saga, and the first without writing credits from Pizzolatto.

Pizzolatto's social media activity has certainly not gone unnoticed by the show's fanbase, many of whom have slammed the series creator as “petty” and “embarrassing" for his commentary. The posts also caught the attention of Reis, who didn’t hesitate to comment on X.

“That’s a damn shame,” season 4 star Reis wrote, retweeting one response to Pizzolatto’s posts. “But hey I guess ‘if you don’t have anything good to share, shit on others’ is the new wave.”



Representatives for Pizzolatto and López did not immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.

López previously spoke of Pizzolatto’s criticism in a January interview with Vulture.

“I believe that every storyteller has a very specific, peculiar, and unique relation to the stories they create, and whatever his reactions are, he’s entitled to them," López said at the time. "That’s his prerogative."

She continued, “I wrote this with profound love for the work he made and love for the people that loved it. And it is a reinvention, and it is different, and it’s done with the idea of sitting down around the fire, and [let’s] have some fun and have some feelings and have some thoughts. And anybody that wants to join is welcome.”

Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in 'True Detective: Night Country'.
MICHELE K. SHORT/HBO
The season includes several easter eggs linking the story to the first season, including a callback to the infamous "time is a flat circle” line, spoken by Matthew McConaughey’s Rust Cohle. Lopez told EW that this was not for the purpose of appeasing longtime fans with a familiar reference, but because it served the story.

"I do know that the hardcore Pizzolatto Forever fans are going to perhaps believe that it was put there just to appease them, but it's not true," López said in an interview conducted in January. "That phrase, it was not something that I planned on putting in the series at all. I think it's super cheesy to say, 'I will find a place to put this.' It's absolutely organic and it came from the script."

 

[blackbull1970]

At some point I’m gonna have to catch up on this series.

I been putting it off, might binge it this Spring.

‘True Detective’ Renewed for Season 5 With ‘Night Country’ Creator Issa López Returning Under New HBO Overall Deal

By Joe Otterson
February 22, 2024

‘True Detective’ Renewed for Season 5 With ‘Night Country’ Creator Issa López Returning Under New HBO Overall Deal

"True Detective" has been renewed for Season 5 at HBO. Issa López, the creator of "True Detective: Night Country," will helm the fifth season.

variety.com

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

12 Books to Read If You Can’t Move On From Night Country

These icy, lonesome tales will scratch the same frostbitten itch as True Detective’s fourth season.

www.vulture.com

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Enjoyed this show which just wrapped up recently too.

What Made True Detective’s First Season So Great Is Missing From Night Country. Luckily, Another Detective Drama Has It in Spades.

Monsieur Spade comes close to reproducing the first True Detective’s narrative texture and density.

slate.com

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

True Detective: Night Country.


The season on the whole was mixed for me. Some elements worked, while others didn't.


At 6 episodes it also felt like there was too much stuff crammed in, and some side plots that weren't fully fleshed out.


With the fractured relationship between Danvers and Navarro from jump, it only allowed for a few episodes in the latter half wherein they could partner up and do the "detective work" together as a more cohesive pair. Looking back I would have preferred seeing them together more earlier on, which just wasn't plausible.


The mood and vibe of the show was appreciated though. That unsettling darkness, especially as a winter season watch in January / February. More ominous.


As for True Detective as a franchise ... seasons 1 and 3 were definitely the highlights. Seasons 2 and 4 not so much. I'll still continue watching though - whenever season 5 comes around.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

The Finale of ‘True Detective: Night Country’

The building mystery has finally been solved! Chris and Andy give their thoughts on the finale and where the ‘True Detective’ franchise goes from here.

www.theringer.com

The ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Exit Survey

The sun is up, the murders have been solved, and Qavvik has his SpongeBob toothbrush back. It’s time to dig into the ‘Night Country’ finale.

www.theringer.com

Who Done It? Breaking Down the Finale of ‘True Detective: Night Country’

The sixth and final episode of ‘Night Country’ reveals the truth behind Annie Kowtok’s and the Tsalal scientists’ killings. Depending on, well, your definition of "truth."

www.theringer.com

 

[playahaitian]

True Detective: Night Country.


The season on the whole was mixed for me. Some elements worked, while others didn't.


At 6 episodes it also felt like there was too much stuff crammed in, and some side plots that weren't fully fleshed out.


With the fractured relationship between Danvers and Navarro from jump, it only allowed for a few episodes in the latter half wherein they could partner up and do the "detective work" together as a more cohesive pair. Looking back I would have preferred seeing them together more earlier on, which just wasn't plausible.


The mood and vibe of the show was appreciated though. That unsettling darkness, especially as a winter season watch in January / February. More ominous.


As for True Detective as a franchise ... seasons 1 and 3 were definitely the highlights. Seasons 2 and 4 not so much. I'll still continue watching though - whenever season 5 comes around.

Damn... You got it!!!

That was the big issue.

 

[Complex]

I'm call for a season five

but not with Issa Lopez

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Damn... You got it!!!

That was the big issue.

One of the podcasts was saying the callbacks to season 1 (the symbol / Russ' father / that family - I forget their name) felt like fan service. Needed to do more with all of that.

Didn't really know too much about the scientists, nor the women at the end. They were supporting characters without much back story so it was hard to get fully invested.

Hank's mail order bride storyline from Russia that amounted to nothing ... why? Filler material.

Danver's stepdaughter's relationship with the blonde ... who cared?

Navarro's sister ... needed more on her aside from just trauma / mental illness in the family.

Wanted to see more of Prior and Rose at the end. They were both interesting characters in their own right.

 

[playahaitian]

One of the podcasts was saying the callbacks to season 1 (the symbol / Russ' father / that family - I forget their name) felt like fan service. Needed to do more with all of that.

Didn't really know too much about the scientists, nor the women at the end. They were supporting characters without much back story so it was hard to get fully invested.

Hank's mail order bride storyline from Russia that amounted to nothing ... why? Filler material.

Danver's stepdaughter's relationship with the blonde ... who cared?

Navarro's sister ... needed more on her aside from just trauma / mental illness in the family.

Wanted to see more of Prior and Rose at the end. They were both interesting characters in their own right.

Well gawd damn...

H Funk whipped the blades out

And I got absolutely no defense

 

[playahaitian]

One of the podcasts was saying the callbacks to season 1 (the symbol / Russ' father / that family - I forget their name) felt like fan service. Needed to do more with all of that.

Didn't really know too much about the scientists, nor the women at the end. They were supporting characters without much back story so it was hard to get fully invested.

Hank's mail order bride storyline from Russia that amounted to nothing ... why? Filler material.

Danver's stepdaughter's relationship with the blonde ... who cared?

Navarro's sister ... needed more on her aside from just trauma / mental illness in the family.

Wanted to see more of Prior and Rose at the end. They were both interesting characters in their own right.

I still need to fully understand what the definition of this is.

 

[playahaitian]

'True Detective' is coming back for season 5, despite criticism from show creator

'True Detective' has been renewed for season 5 at HBO as part of an overall deal with season 4 showrunner Issa López. The announcement follows criticism of 'True Detective: Night Country' shared by show creator Nic Pizzolatto.

ew.com

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

I still need to fully understand what the definition of this is.

From what I gather is it’s trying to please / appease former fans to win them over. Often not done well in entertainment. Best done well with easter eggs and references that actually mean something in the long run (and thrill the fans).

It’s really hit and miss in tv and movies.

I think here it was like ... ok ... and!?

What else? Tie things up better.

 

[playahaitian]

From what I gather is it’s trying to please / appease former fans to win them over. Often not done well in entertainment. Best done well with easter eggs and references that actually mean something in the long run (and thrill the fans).

It’s really hit and miss in tv and movies.

I think here it was like ... ok ... and!?

What else? Tie things up better.

Now THAT is a proper definition I can understand and agree with

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Now THAT is a proper definition I can understand and agree with

Thanks.

I was thinking about it after I replied.

It’s one of those things of fully commiting if you’re gonna do it.

Like when a show or movie delivers on something that everyone pretty much wanted or anticipated and truly leaves you like HOLY SHIT ... they pulled that off and then some!

True watercooler talk.

As opposed to people questioning the importance or significance of stuff and how much of an impact stuff did or did not have.

Gotta fully flesh out those plot points for all of us seasoned viewers all over the world.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Side note ... credit to all those writers rooms that have mapped out their shows. The ones that write themselves into a corner and work their way out.

Salute / tip of the cap.

 

[blackbull1970]

Season 1

Started watching this Friday night and thru the weekend. I managed to finish Season 1 earlier this afternoon at home.

This season played out pretty good with enough suspense to keep you watching. Matthew McConaughy and Woody Harrelson had a good chemistry with each working together and did their characters well. Aside from them solving the crime, the season also focus’ on how dysfunctional they are in their private lives.

The season had a good collection of well known supporting actors who were good were good in their roles.

Good depiction of poor, low income White people. They didn’t try to glamorize them like some features do trying to make them look better than they are.

I was cracking up with Woody in the Redneck Strip joint with strippers dancing to KRS-ONE music. Pure comedy.

The Motorcycle Gang drug heist in the Black projects played out nicely with them doing the “One Shot” scene with the camera moving around. It added to the suspense of that scene.

There is a 7 year time jump during episode 5 going from 1995 to 2002. Another time jump from 2002 to 2012 in episode 6 to the season finale.

For the Gay Agenda Trackers, there is a scene in episode 7 in a LGBT Trans bar. Nothing graphic is shown.

The season finale has a “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” vibe to it.

So far I’m really into this series. It plays out similarly to “Fargo” without the Dark Comedy.

​

 

[Flawless]

meh the ending was weak.

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

What Happened to ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto?

His reposting of comments critical of the latest installment of the HBO franchise have left some wondering what became of the original showrunner.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[yaBoi]

meh the ending was weak.

yep

the whole show was mid

 

[playahaitian]

What Happened to ‘True Detective’ Creator Nic Pizzolatto?

His reposting of comments critical of the latest installment of the HBO franchise have left some wondering what became of the original showrunner.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

That man is acting an entire ass.

 

[playahaitian]

Jodie Foster Getting the Hand and Footprint Treatment in Hollywood

She'll be honored in front of the TCL Chinese Theatre in April as part of the TCM Classic Film Festival.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

 

[Apimpnamedslickback]

True Detective: Night Country.


The season on the whole was mixed for me. Some elements worked, while others didn't.


At 6 episodes it also felt like there was too much stuff crammed in, and some side plots that weren't fully fleshed out.


With the fractured relationship between Danvers and Navarro from jump, it only allowed for a few episodes in the latter half wherein they could partner up and do the "detective work" together as a more cohesive pair. Looking back I would have preferred seeing them together more earlier on, which just wasn't plausible.


The mood and vibe of the show was appreciated though. That unsettling darkness, especially as a winter season watch in January / February. More ominous.


As for True Detective as a franchise ... seasons 1 and 3 were definitely the highlights. Seasons 2 and 4 not so much. I'll still continue watching though - whenever season 5 comes around.

Season 4 was trash... and so inconsisitent...

 

[blackbull1970]

Season 2

I started watching this season this past Tuesday night by watching two episodes a night that equate to a movie. Being there really isn’t new material coming out due to the recent Hollywood strikes, it’s looking like I will be able to binge all 4 seasons pretty quickly. I finished season 2 last night on the road.

The season plays out differently than the first. There are two detectives who are the leads with Colin Farrell and Rachael McAdams. A CHP Officer and a local crook played by Vince Vaughn. Lots of characters unlike the first season. Also like the first season, the main characters private lives are fully dysfunctional. The four main characters stories intertwine around the homicide case.

Also like the first, it has a large supporting cast of recognizable actors from well known movies/TV shows over the past 10+ years.

There is some Gay stuff between one of the main male characters and another man. Nothing is shown.

Rachel McAdams looks like hot shit in the season. This will be disappointing for the Thirsty.

There is a pretty decent gun battle between the cops and some LA Latino gangsters. Large body count at the end.

The last 40 minutes of the season finale played out well with suspense on who was gonna die and who wasn’t going to make it.

The paternity test and the baby was a nice surprise an unexpected.

Gonna try to knock out season 3 this weekend.

​

 

[Helico-pterFunk]

Season 2

I started watching this season this past Tuesday night by watching two episodes a night that equate to a movie. Being there really isn’t new material coming out due to the recent Hollywood strikes, it’s looking like I will be able to binge all 4 seasons pretty quickly. I finished season 2 last night on the road.

The season plays out differently than the first. There are two detectives who are the leads with Colin Farrell and Rachael McAdams. A CHP Officer and a local crook played by Vince Vaughn. Lots of characters unlike the first season. Also like the first season, the main characters private lives are fully dysfunctional. The four main characters stories intertwine around the homicide case.

Also like the first, it has a large supporting cast of recognizable actors from well known movies/TV shows over the past 10+ years.

There is some Gay stuff between one of the main male characters and another man. Nothing is shown.

Rachel McAdams looks like hot shit in the season. This will be disappointing for the Thirsty.

There is a pretty decent gun battle between the cops and some LA Latino gangsters. Large body count at the end.

The last 40 minutes of the season finale played out well with suspense on who was gonna die and who wasn’t going to make it.

The paternity test and the baby was a nice surprise an unexpected.

Gonna try to knock out season 3 this weekend.

​

Thanks for your review.

Looking forward to your upcoming season 3 takes. Great job by Ali, Dorff, and company.

Really liked the 3-timeline format that was incorporated.

 

[playahaitian]

TV Ratings: ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Ends With Season High

The HBO show caps its most watched season with more than 3 million first-night viewers.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

TV Ratings: ‘True Detective: Night Country’ Ends With Season High​

The HBO show caps its most watched season with more than 3 million first-night viewers.

BY RICK PORTER
Plus Icon

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• 
  
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FEBRUARY 19, 2024 2:16PM

Jodie Foster and Kail Reis in 'True Detective: Night Country' HBO

The finale of True Detective: Night Country drew the season’s largest first-night audience, ending well above where the season began. On broadcast Sunday, Tracker fit seamlessly into CBS’ lineup in the first episode after its post-Super Bowl premiere.

Sunday’s closing episode of Night Country brought in 3.2 million cross-platform viewers (for the first airing on HBO, two replays later in the night and streaming on Max), the biggest night one tune-in of the six-episode season. The previous week’s installment had 5 million viewers over three days after being released on Max two days early on Super Bowl weekend.



Night Country also ends as the most watched of True Detective’s four seasons so far: It’s averaged 12.7 million viewers per episode since the Jan. 14 season premiere, beating out the 11.9 million average for season one back in 2014. HBO measures viewing for 90 days from a season premiere. (It’s also worth noting that earlier seasons of True Detective weren’t as readily available to stream, as they all predated Max’s launch.)
Sunday’s 3.2 million viewers capped a season in which the audience built over the course of six episodes; the finale drew about 57 percent more viewers than the 2 million for the season premiere. It was also up 55 percent over the season three finale in February 2019.

Night Country’s 12.7 million viewer average for the season is ahead of season two of The White Lotus (10.1 million viewers just before its finale) and the final season of Succession (8.7 million). The high mark for any HBO series since Game of Thrones ended belongs to The Last of Us, whose first season in 2023 drew better than 30 million viewers per episode across all platforms in its first 90 days.

Elsewhere Sunday, Tracker drew 6.87 million viewers for CBS in the final same-day ratings (up from 6.64 million in the preliminary numbers), building on its Equalizer lead-in (6.46 million). The season premiere of American Idol on ABC (4.62 million viewers) declined by about 12 percent from last year’s debut, while the People’s Choice Awards on NBC came in at 3.51 million (not including a simulcast on E!), on par with the 3.54 million on the network for the last ceremony in December 2022.
Feb. 21, 8:17 a.m. Updated with final broadcast ratings for Sunday

 

[playahaitian]

*kaboom! Success is the best way to shut people up

‘True Detective’ Renewed for Season 5 With Issa López at the Helm

The showrunner who took over the anthology from creator Nic Pizzolatto has also signed an overall deal with HBO.

www.hollywoodreporter.com

‘True Detective’ Renewed for Season 5 With Issa López at the Helm​

The showrunner who took over the anthology from creator Nic Pizzolatto has also signed an overall deal with HBO.

BY LESLEY GOLDBERG


FEBRUARY 22, 2024 11:00AM

Jodie Foster in "True Detective: Night Country"; showrunner Issa López MICHELE K. SHORT/HBO; HECTOR VIVAS/GETTY IMAGES

HBO is returning to True Detective.

On the heels of its season four finale, the premium cable network has handed out a fifth-season renewal for the anthology. Additionally, Night Country showrunner Issa López has signed an overall deal with the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned cabler and will return to steer the fifth season after taking over the franchise from creator Nic Pizzolatto. López will also create and develop new projects for HBO.

“Issa López is that one-of-a-kind, rare talent that speaks directly to HBO’s creative spirit. She helmed True Detective: Night Country from start to finish, never once faltering from her own commendable vision, and inspiring us with her resilience both on the page and behind the camera,” HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi said in a statement. “Alongside Jodie [Foster] and Kali [Reis]’ impeccable performances, she’s made this installation of the franchise a massive success, we are so lucky to have her as part of our family.”




Night Country ranks as the most watched season of True Detective, topping the first season of the anthology with 12.7 million viewers across multiple platforms. López was tapped to take over the franchise after creator Pizzolatto’s overall deal with HBO expired and the showrunner opted to move to Disney in a pact that he later exited early. HBO retains ownership of the series and was eager to hand the franchise over to someone with a new voice. Pizzolatto, though, remains credited as an exec producer and continues to be compensated despite having zero involvement in Night Country.

Pizzolatto, who is currently working on a Western for Amazon and has a few other projects in the works, has been openly critical of Night Country on his social media platforms, saying things like “can’t blame me.” Co-star Reis defended Night Country, saying it’s “a damn shame” that the True Detective creator could not support the new installment. “But hey I guess ‘if you don’t have anything good to share, shit on others’ is the new wave,” she wrote. López, in multiple interviews, has said that she loved Pizzolatto’s seasons of the franchise and set out to make a show set in the same universe.

“From conception to release, Night Country has been the most beautiful collaboration and adventure of my entire creative life,” López said in a statement Thursday. “HBO trusted my vision all the way, and the idea of bringing to life a new incarnation of True Detective with Casey [Bloys], Francesca and the whole team is a dream come true. I can’t wait to go again.”


Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter after the finale, López said she had an idea for a second season and that she would “weave the mystery” differently to keep up with the real-life true detectives who obsessed over the season.

López, star Foster, Mari Jo Winkler, Barry Jenkins, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Chris Mundy, Alan Page Arriaga, Steve Golin, Richard Brown, season one stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson; Emmy-winning director Cary Joji Fukunaga and Pizzolatto are all credited as exec producers on season four.

True Detective is part of a roster of HBO’s scripted dramas that also includes The Last of Us, Euphoria, House of the Dragon, The Gilded Age and the upcoming The Regime and The Sympathizer, among others. A potential third season of Big Little Lies is also in early development, though HBO has yet to formally hear a pitch for a new cycle

 

[blackbull1970]

Season 3

Started the 3rd season Saturday night while at home and finished tonight.

The season mainly revolves around one detective recollecting on a past case that happened back in the 1980s. The series goes back and forth between 3 decades in 1980, 1990 and 2015.

Mahershala Ali and Stephen Dorff are the two detectives. Both of them were cast perfectly in their roles and they did them well, especially Stephen. The issue of race came up between them along with coming up thru out the season. The issue was handled and presented well.

Unlike the last two seasons, there was only two well known actors in supporting roles. Actress Carmen Ejogo co-stars as Mahershala wife, she was looking fine as hell in the early 1980s hair/outfits. Looked her up and she is a British actress/singer.

Like the first two seasons, they get into how dysfunctional the 2 main characters are with the detectives, not as much detail as prior seasons. The relationship between Det. Hayes and his wife is shown on how dysfunctional they are with them displaying their differences and having their Fuck sessions.

That Indian dude, that cat got his warning from the detectives and those White Boyz, but still goes out there talking to those little white girls. The Indian dude went full “Rambo” on them mofos.

The investigation leads to a somewhat twist into the murder bringing out some unexpected revelations at the end.

This was a slow burn season, didn’t hold up with suspense and thrills like the first two, but still somewhat entertaining.

Season 4 has only 6 episodes, I should have that complete before the end of this coming weekend.

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[blackbull1970]

Season 4

I started watching this on this weekend while at home and finished it this afternoon.

The season takes place in Northern Alaska in December soon after the Sun sets on the shortest day of the year. The part of Alaska north of the Artic Circle gets about 6 months of darkness from December to May.

Because of this setting and how the first episode starts prior to opening credits sequence , it gives it a a horror vibe. Close to a “30 Days Of Night” to some degree.

The season has two lead female officers heading the investigation. Veteran actress Jodie Foster has the lead role and former professional boxer Kali Reis co-stars. This is her 2nd acting gig and she does a decent job as a Native American cop.

The relationship between the two cops plays out similar to what we saw in Season 1 and Season 3 with the cops having difficulty working with each cuz of their personalities. The season also like the past ones delves into how dysfunctional they are in their personal lives.

We get some Fucking in this season. Jodie Foster, who is actually a lesbian in real life has a funny sex scene. Kali Reis has a scene making a mofo bust a nut real quick. No nudity in either scene.

Like past seasons, there is a small amount of supernatural stuff that happens. Similar to how they do it in “Fargo”. The season also delves into Native American culture in Alaska.

Watching the ending, I can see why cats didn’t like this season. If you are a certified InCell, this season is not for you. It was directed and written by a woman and the season is presented from a woman’s POV. The season finale has scenes that you will find offensive and disturbing, if you are InCell who hates and despises women.

This season was definitely a slow burn compared to others. Overall it was interesting. It isn’t the best compared to the past seasons.

Hopefully Issa Lopez kicks it up a notch for Season 5.

Looking forward to it.:16:

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[blackbull1970]

Jodie Foster Says ‘True Detective’ Will Remain an Anthology in Season 5 and She’s Not Returning: ‘It’s One and Done’

By Zack Sharf
March 10, 2024

Jodie Foster Says ‘True Detective’ Will Remain an Anthology in Season 5 and She’s Not Returning: ‘It’s One and Done’

Jodie Foster said on Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV that starring in "True Detective" was "one and done."

variety.com

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[playahaitian]

Jodie Foster Says ‘True Detective’ Will Remain an Anthology in Season 5 and She’s Not Returning: ‘It’s One and Done’

By Zack Sharf
March 10, 2024

Jodie Foster Says ‘True Detective’ Will Remain an Anthology in Season 5 and She’s Not Returning: ‘It’s One and Done’

Jodie Foster said on Variety On the Carpet presented by DIRECTV that starring in "True Detective" was "one and done."

variety.com

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I respect it.

 

[ShortyCumStain]

This season was disappointing, to say da least.

 

[playahaitian]

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